Subaru - Forester :: 1998 - Gas Mileage Is 20 Mpg?
I just bought this car for my daughter. It's in very good shape; runs like a top. But the gas mileage is a lousy 20 mpg. All of my trips are local (no stop and go stuff as we live in the country). A buddy of mine with the same car and similar driving habits says she gets 25-28 mpg. So far I have changed the oil, oil filter and air filter.This can't be the best I can expect, can it?!
View 10 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2004 - Hot Oil Smell / Smoke From The Engine
After smelling a bit of a "hot oil smell" on and off for several weeks and culminating in a getting smoke from the engine at the end of a mountain road, we took our 2004 Subaru Forrester (147,500) to the trusted mechanic. We were told that it needs head gaskets in both banks.
View 7 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2006 - Blowing White Smoke - Oil Overfill?
Had the oil changed in 2006 forester. They put 6 qts of oil in. The car was driven for 1 day, less than 50 miles and was blowing white smoke. Had the oil changed again with the right amount. The dealer is saying the car needs a head gasket. Did the oil overfill cause this?
View 10 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Smell Of Fuel Outside The Car
Okay, I've been trying to diagnose this problem for ages. Whenever I top off my tank with fuel, the garage smells of fuel until I use up about a quarter of the tank. The smell stays mostly outside of the car. So far I have replaced the drain filter (a few years ago), fuel filler neck, hose leading from the filler neck to the tank, and had the system pressure tested. I'm fairly certain it's not the tank because the car has been undercoated since new and my mechanic saw no signs of a leak when he replaced the rear crossmember recently. My next guess is either the gas cap, the charcoal filter, or some hose leading to/from the charcoal filter.
View 7 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Unable To Take Out Of Park
I can not get my car out of park. I must replace a fuse every time . 1998 subaru forester . 241,000 miles
View 4 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Running Hot But Won't Blowing Hot Air?
Recently, my car had started having cooling issues. It was running hot, into the danger zone, and it would not blow hot air. I took action and replaced the thermostat myself, drained the coolant, and bled out any air bubbles, filled it up with coolant and the problems still persisted.
View 14 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Blown Head Gasket
I got a 98 Subi Forester L, stick, 130k mi.
I've been thinking about what gs ragtop & tester mentioned about the silicate stuff and I'm ready to take the chance, but there's one thing bothering me: If that stuff is supposed to be drawn into the combustion chamber where the silicate comes in contact with the super hot temps that solidify it, thereby sealing the leak, that assumes coolant is going into the combustion chamber, right? Well, I've been driving this car with a blown hg for at least 2yrs maybe 3, (that in itself amazes me), and I've never seen any sign of coolant in the exhaust, no smoke, nor any rough starting issues to speak of.
So, my question is simply, HOW THE HECK DOES THAT HAPPEN!! How in the world can I lift the hood and watch exhaust gases bubbling up in the radiator, yet when I park on a hot, 95 degree August day with a fully pressurized cooling system, the next time it's started there is no sign of coolant. The physics of that defy me! I mean, it says that the head gasket magically blew a "one-way" valve in itself? What do you think? Am I missing something?
Subaru - Forester :: 1998 - Head Gasket Leaking Oil
I have a 1998 Subaru Forester that is leaking oil through the head gasket. Repairs for the head gasket seem to be in high range, which is at or above the value of the car. Is trying any of the head gasket sealant products such as Blue Devil worth trying? Do they have the potential to do more damage than good? I love the car, but I'm also not sure if it is worth getting if fixed or if I should be looking to sell it for parts and buy a different used car.
View 15 RepliesSubaru - Forester - Starters :: 1998 - Won't Start - Only Radio / Air Came On?
I drive a 98 Subaru Forester with ~190,000 miles on it. This car is incredibly reliable and excluding the following incident I have never had a problem with it. The other day I went out to run some errands and when I came out of the store my car wouldn't start. I turned the key and nothing happened. There was no sound from the engine or starter whatsoever, but the radio, air, etc. came on. It had started perfectly fine just an hour earlier that day. I had a friend and with a few strikes from a hammer on the starter the car fired right up so that appears to have been the problem. It's been a few days now and it has started right up every time I've turned the key since. Was this incident just a fluke? Is this what they call a "dead spot" in the starter? Should I replace it or can I get away with just carrying a hammer and push starting if worse comes to worst?
View 2 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: AC Is On Automatic Control - Fan Will Speed Up
Sometimes when the AC is on automatic control it will kick out of auto control into manual control and the fan will speed up. All this happens without touching anything. Dealer said it's working fine.
View 1 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1999 - Overheats At Low Speed?
The head gaskets are less than 2 years old, radiator only almost 3 years old, I've constantly had oil leak issue. Now the problem is my temperature gauge rises after driving for 20-30 minutes when I'm going at a lower speed or in stop and go traffic. Both fans are working, no leaks, new thermostat, and new radiator cap.
View 2 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Rough Running / One Cylinder Has No Compression
will it hurt my 98' forester to drive it when one cylinder has no compression? They tell me it needs a valve job for 2,500. They already put a mass air flow sensor in, and replaced plugs and wires. Still got the miss, but I need the vehicle.
View 2 RepliesSubaru - Forester - Fuses :: 1998 - Brake Light Not Working
I drive a 98 Subaru Forester and last month the village cop pulled me over for having no brake lights. It turned out to be a blown fuse for the brake lights so I replaced it, problem solved. Well, I got pulled over by the same cop, in the same place tonight. Blown fuse for the brake lights. It seems like a fuse should last more than a few weeks. Is there a problem which would over tax the fuse?
View 4 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Running Hot After 15 Minutes Of Either Driving Or Idling
1998 Forester, 233,000 miles.. Two years ago it started running hot after 15 minutes of either driving or idling. Coolant seemed to vanish into thin air. The Subaru Dealership said that I either had a bad head gasket or a cracked cylinder wall. They said if the head gasket was bad then need to replace the head gaskets. They said if the cylinder wall was cracked, then we would need a new engine.
View 4 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 1998 - Code PO0400 / EGR Flow Error
Got a 98 Subaru Forester with 130,000mi. Good car so far. Just got a good deal on a scanner and it reports 1 code - PO0400. I see it mean EGR flow error. What is the most probable cause or a troubleshoot process to narrow it down? My repair manuals on the car are kind of lacking and I can't even find the blasted EGR valve! I thought I found it but I think it's the knock sensor.
View 14 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: 2009 - Free Wheeling At Low Speed
35,000 miles... I don't know which I noticed first, getting my head snapped back after rounding a corner and accelerating or starting to free wheel at about 15 mph approaching a stop. I am embarrassed to say it took me a while to figure out it was the same problem only worse when rounding a corner.
Briefly. The transmission is not down shifting all the way on deceleration. My local mechanic told me to try overfilling the xmission. I did (1qt) and now it only does it when cold. Subaru knows all about it except that part about how to fix it.
Subaru - Forester :: Noise Coming From Back Of Car / Increases With Speed
2003 Subaru Forester with 130,000 miles. We put new tires on two months ago and when I started hearing the wah, wah, wah noise coming from the back of the car (rhythmic - increases with speed of car) I assumed on of the new tires was bad. It isn't. Also pulled the brake drums and cleaned everything there up.... What this might be?
View 5 RepliesSubaru - Forester :: Thumping Noise When Accelerator Depressed At A Speed Over 35 Mph
I brought my car to a dealership for its 120,000mi check-up, and they told me that the front axle boots were torn. They replaced the right axle, and on the ride home, I noticed a burning smell. Short story is four return trips, and the right axle replaced three times (including the initial replacement), and the smell has finally gone away. The weird part is not that I went back to the same place four times instead of giving up, it's that they told me this last time that they moved the replacement #2 right axle to the left when they installed replacement #3.
Why would they do that? Why would the smell go away if the issue was with that axle? I looked it up, and the same part is used on the driver's side and passenger side, so it wasn't as though they installed a left axle on the right the first two times. Does this mean the "new" axles were just new-to-me and had been reconditioned? If reconditioned, would it matter if a previously left axle was mounted on the right?
Meanwhile, about six weeks after replacement #2, the car started making a thumping noise when the accelerator was depressed at a speed over 35mph (but not when coasting above 35mph or with the gas on below 30-35). I was wondering if it was misfiring or something, but lo and behold! That noise went away with the axle switching. Way back at replacement #1, they replaced the boot on the left but not the entire axle until #3.
Subaru - Forester :: Car Bucks / Hesitates Slightly Off And On While Driving At Constant Low Speed
I have a new 2015 Subaru Forester and I noticed the following problem: When driving at a constant low speed, in the 20-30 MPH range, the car bucks/hesitates slightly off and on, while driving. At first I thought the engine was missing, but I noticed the RPM was at about 1000 RPM, very low. And a missing engine would cause a "check engine" warning.
So I think this is a combination of the CVT and the engine lugging. The CVT should move down a notch to a lower "gear" but it doesn't, so the engine is forced to operate at a problem speed. A normal transmission would downshift, I would think.
Can I do anything to solve this, other than manually shift to the low range?